An  Unexpected End
by Kyraillion
Summary: SPOILERS FOR DH pt2:  Hermione does her best to save Snape at the Shrieking Shack, and although his physical wounds may eventually heal, only time will tell what will happen to the rest of him.  Possible pairings but none yet.  You tell me what you want!
1. Vulnera

**An Unexpected End**

**Chapter One:**

Hermione saw him slump limply against the wall of the Shrieking Shack. Snape collapsed unceremoniously and raised a trembling hand in a feeble attempt to staunch the gushing blood from the wounds at his throat. His wand lay forgotten on the floor of the shack. Hermione could only watch, horrified, as the man in front of her struggled for breath.

Her friends had turned toward her to save Dobby when he had been grievously injured earlier in the year. No one turned to her now, but the sinking feeling of helplessness was just the same.

Harry had bent over their former professor and placed his hand over Snape's as the former potions master murmured something to him. Hermione couldn't understand the words through the sickly wet, gurgling sounds that accompanied them. However, she understood well enough when pearly white faux tears snaked their way down Snape's bloodied face. Suppressing a sob, Hermione produced a glass vial from her purse and thrust it toward Harry. She was unable to tear her eyes away from the bloody mess that was Severus Snape.

She wracked her brain for any spells or herbs that might be of use. It felt like a hopeless endeavor. The man's lifeblood was steadily pooling at her feet and she could think of absolutely nothing.

'_What good is being a witch,' _she thought miserably, '_if I can't even ease a dying man's pain! Think, Hermione. There must be something… anything…'_

She combed her brain once more as she turned her wand around and around in her hands.

'_Healing spells! There must be some sort of healing spell that can set him right.'_

Kneeling down beside Harry, she shoved her friend aside just as he finished gathering Snape's proffered memories. She hed her want at the ready, pointed straight at the oozing mess that had once been Professor Snape's throat. Harry shot her a wild look, but said nothing as he scrambled out of the way.

"First thing is first," she mumbled to herself, trying to build a confidence she could no longer feel.

"Tergo!" She whispered hoarsely and the blood surrounding the wound was scourged away. Immediately, Hermione wished she had left the blood, as it covered a quickly festering gash the length of her hand wrapped around Snape's neck. She thought she could see his carotid artery pulsing faintly beneath the still sloshing blood.

"Oy!" Ron cried out suddenly from behind her. "What do you think you're doing?"

Hermione didn't have time for questions.

"I'm trying to save him you dolt! Help me think! There isn't much time."

She glanced at Snape's pained face through the tears in her eyes and fought back a grimace. No one deserved this. Whatever he might or might not have done before didn't matter now. He was a human and he deserved her best. The rest of it could be sorted out later.

"But, but he killed D-Dumbledoor!" Ron stuttered, completely ignored by the others.

Harry approached once more, crouching next to Hermione and peering uncertainly at the wounds she sought to mend. But Harry had only seen a couple of healing spells in his short stent in the wizarding world. Surely those wouldn't be enough. Still though, his mind flashed back to a time when Tonks had mended his broken nose. That spell healed bone though, not flesh. Slowly, another memory came to him. In this one, Snape flashed daggers at Harry before healing Malfoy of the Sectumsempra curse. Yes! That was it!

"Vulnera Sanentur!" Harry half shouted. He encouragement was all it took for Hermione to repeat his words.

The bleeding stopped with the first casting. Hermione gulped and tried again, her hand shaking with the weight of her task.

The wound began to knit, and with one final casting, the visible wounds drew completely closed. The skin was raised in scarred ridges and had a sickly purple tinge to it. Hermione could already see the tell-tale runners of blood poisoning stretching out from where Nagini's poisonous fangs had torn at Snape's throat.

Snape looked, if possible, more pale that ever before. He had lost massive amounts of blood and Hermione had no way of knowing what other internal injuries had been inflicted upon her former professor. But she couldn't focus on those. Instead, she summoned a crushed bezoar and a water flask from her pouch. As gently as possible, she coaxed the mixture down her professor's throat. Snape was barely able to swallow on his own and his eyes remained eerily distant. The process was agonizingly slow.

Ron watched her cradle the man's head and upper body as Harry aided her in persuading Snape's battered body to accept the drink.

"I don't understand it," he muttered morosely. "What are we going to do with him now, anyway?"

Hermione shot a sideways glance at Harry, who appeared just as perplexed as she felt.

"I mean it's not like we're busy trying to fight You-Know-Who or anything!" Ron continued, standing with his arms folded over his chest.

"I know," Hermione squeaked. It all seemed so terribly out of her hands, despite her best interests. There were people, friends, dying up at the castle at this very moment she could do nothing. She tightened her grip on Snape's trembling shoulders, trying to assure herself that she was helping somehow.

Snape stirred, as if sensing their distress.

"Leave me," he rasped, his thin chest heaving with the effort of speech.

Hermione shook her head frantically, tears falling freely down her cheeks.

Shape's mouth opened as if he wished to say more, but no sound escaped. Apparently he lacked the strength for further communication.

"Mungo's," Harry interjected. "They can care for him there and you can return to help us here. We're going to need you Hermione."

Hermione wasn't so sure, but Harry looked set and it wasn't as if there was anything else she could do. Nodding to her friends, she shifted her grip on the dying man and disappeared with a sharp pop.

**Author's Note: Yes, this is one of those 'what if Snape survived' fics. I can't seem to find one that really satisfies what I'm looking for, so I figured why not write one myself? Let me know what you think of this. I'm still working on my Harry Potter duet. My hard drive crashed and took everything I had so far on that one. I'll be updating my Bleach fic shortly too, I hope. Please, please, please review! I'm not above begging for reviews. Second chapter should be up within a day or so. **


	2. St Mungo's

**An Unexpected End**

**Chapter Two:**

An almighty tug pulled at her navel and Hermione felt herself drawn away. A cold voice penetrated her thoughts, but it was gone before she could understand what had happened. With an unnerving crack, she found herself in the receiving lobby of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

She appeared in a crouch, and tried to lift Snape without causing any further harm. Immediately two witches in white robes and hats aided her in levitating Snape's now unconscious form onto a stretcher. A small sob escaped Hermione as they worked, their mouths set in twin grim lines.

"He's lost a lot of blood," she said stupidly, " and, and I gave him a bezoar for the poison."

The nurses only nodded without looking at her as they levitated the dying man away down the stark white corridor.

A slight cough behind her caught Hermione's attention and forced her to tear her eyes away from the tragic scene before her. She turned to face a thin and lanky wizard setting at what Hermione assumed was the reception desk.

"What's wrong with this one," he asked. A bored drawl to his voice indicated that he must be used to injured people suddenly turning up in the lobby.

Hermione approached him timidly, feeling extremely ill-at-ease. Everything seemed so surreal. Minutes ago she had seen You-Know-Who, and now, here she was, safe at St. Mungo's.

"Well?"

The young wizard's voice drew her back to the present.

"He was attacked by a giant snake."

The man scratched this onto a blank piece of parchment with an old quill.

"I… I managed to get the wounds closed. I don't know about any internal damage. He's lost a lot of blood. I gave him a bezoar for the poison, but I'm sure he'll need anti-venom of some sort. He still seems to have some trouble breathing and swallowing on his own and I think he has blood poisoning."

This all came out in a hurried rush.

The receptionist hummed noncommittally and continued to scrawl notes. In a bored tone he asked for the patient's name.

"Professor Severus Snape." Hermione answered automatically and began to fidget with her robes. She didn't want to answer any personal questions about Snape and she was more than ready to be back by Ron and Harry's sides.

The man raised his head and blinked at this before returning to his task.

"Very well," he spoke at last. "You needn't worry, Miss, er…"

"Granger," Hermione supplied.

"Granger then. We'll do our best with him here. You may wait here in the lobby if you wish." The man gestured at a row of seats near the wall and went back to scribbling.

Hermione walked away from the desk and allowed herself the brief reprieve of a few deep breaths before apparating back to the Shrieking Shack.

Suddenly she found Ron and Harry staring incredulously at her. The world spun slightly as Hermione tried to focus on her friends.

"We've been given an hour," Harry informed her.

"You-Know-Who has called off his Death Eaters to let us, er… recompose ourselves."

Hermione knew what that meant. Ron was too afraid to say anything about death. She hadn't expected Voldermort to allow them to care for their wounded and dead. It was a bit of a shock. Certainly it came with some sort of a catch.

"And then," Hermione dared to question.

Harry shifted his weight and stared at the bloodstained floorboards. "Then I'm supposed to go find him in the Forbidden Forrest or he'll unleash his full force and join the fray."

Ron gulped at that. Hermione couldn't blame him. The idea of confronting Voldermort head on made her feel sick as well.

"So, we have one hour then," she whispered.

Harry nodded. "He only just announced it."

"One hour to destroy the horcruxes. We'll have to hurry."

Ron's eyes bulged a bit.

"We'd best get a move on, then," Hermione stated. "And Harry, you'll need to see those memories. Maybe they'll hold some clues."

**Author's Note: Here you have it! Thanks to all who reviewed. Reviews make my day! I hope you'll continue to let me know what you think. College is starting up again all too soon. I'm hoping that doesn't wreak havoc with my writing time. I'll do what I can! Thank you again!**


	3. Relief

**An Unexpected End**

**Chapter Three:**

The battle was over in the course of a couple of hours, and yet an eternity seemed to have passed. The castle was nearly destroyed and several friends were lost forever. Bodies of friends, family, loved-ones, acquaintances, students, and enemies all lay row by row on the former House Tables in the Great Hall. It was such a devastating scene that Hermione wanted to flee and never look back at Hogwarts again. Still, she bore it for Ron and for Ginny, whose brother Fred lay among the hallowed dead.

In such little time so much had happened. Voldermort had fallen and was finally disposed of for good. Professor Lupin and Tonks were dead. So was Fred. Each death, each friend gone, ached like a physical blow to Hermione's chest. Never in her life had she felt so drained. Hermione was no stranger to fighting for her own life, or to fighting for Harry's and Ron's for that matter, but fighting for all of her friends and loved ones was tiresome indeed. Still though, nothing had compared to watching a sobbing Hagrid carry Harry's limp body back toward the Great Hall. Harry hadn't really been dead then, but no one had been the wiser, and they knew Harry had truly died at Voldermort's hand. It was evident in the dark wizard's manner. It had felt so real and so disparaging until Harry had flipped himself out of Hagrid's arms. Even Hermione wasn't sure how Harry had managed to die and then… un-die. She supposed that a part, and only a part, of Harry had been killed by Voldermort's curse. It didn't matter now. Harry was safe beside her and looking mostly whole. She could ponder how it all worked out later.

Harry had painstakingly recounted every detail of the ordeal, including the contents of Professor Snape's memories. They had all been terribly wrong about him. As spiteful as the greasy git from the dungeons was, Hermione was certain they would not have succeeded without Snape and his nearly 20 years of constant risk. It was quite a hallowing thought.

Hermione sat in the Headmaster's office, grateful now more so than ever for the comfort of her two dearest friends. She struggled to find the words to share her sentiments with her friends, but words were not needed. Ron placed an arm around her shoulders, an unspoken promise of the coming change in their relationship. Harry, beneath the pain, the filth, and the exhaustion, beamed at the both of them. Despite everything, the relief was truly wonderful.

The three finished the sandwiches Kreature brought up for them and suddenly realized that they had no clue what to do next.

"Um," Ron supplied upon this collective realization. "I think I'll go back down to the Great Hall for Mum and George. Mum'll be frantic when she realizes I'm not there."

"Of course," Harry nodded his agreement, standing up and brushing the crumbs off his tattered and filthy robes. "I think I'll go too. Ginny's probably furious with me for taking off right now."

Hermione stared blankly at the two of them and remained seated.

"You coming, 'Mione?" Ron asked, holding out a hand to help her up.

Hermione didn't take it.

"Someone should go check on Professor Snape," she replied, as if this was obvious.

"I'd go, Hermione," Harry offered," but we've got to establish some sort of order here before nightfall, and I don't think anyone is in charge at the moment.

Hermione stood at last.

"I don't blame either of you. I just think it needs to be done. It's… not like he has any friends here, except maybe Professor McGonagall, that is, once we tell her the truth, but she's laid up in the Hospital Wing right now, so she-"

"Hermione, you're rambling," Ron interrupted.

At first Hermione looked shocked, as if she might say something cross to the red-head for interrupting her trail of thought, but instead she released a heavy sigh.

"Right. I guess it'd best be me then. I'll see you shortly, Ron, Harry."

Harry stopped her quickly by reaching out and placing a hand on her arm.

"Wait. How do we even know he's still, well, alive?"

Hermione swallowed hard. She hadn't thought of that. He made it to St. Mungo's alive, so he simply had to be alright, didn't he?

"I haven't gotten an owl," she speculated. "All the same, I'd best go check. The school's wards are completely down, aren't they?"

Harry nodded. "I think they were all broken in the fight."

Hermione didn't stay to hear any more. With a pop, she was gone.

**Author's Note: I'm enjoying this fic so much. I hope you are too! I only got one review for the last chapter, but I realize it'll pick up with time. I'm so excited to take this fic and see where it will go! The next chapter should be up in a couple of days, providing I get a little free time from homework. **


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